Electronic casino games, whether video poker or slot games, have grown exponentially in numbers in the last twenty years, as have the revenues generated by such machine games. It has been estimated that more than 70% of any casino's revenue is now provided by machine games as opposed to table games.
Video poker in particular has become enormously popular with the casino player who prefers a game that requires decision-making. Although video poker is a randomly-dealt game of chance, there is an element of skill involved in the game play. After the player is dealt an initial hand, usually consisting of five cards, the player may select which cards to hold and which cards to discard. Replacement cards are provided for the discarded cards, and the final hand is evaluated for wins according to a predetermined paytable. By applying an optimal strategy in the hold/discard phase, the player can increase his chance of winning and/or decrease the average house hold.
Standard video poker games consist mainly of two types of games: non-wild and wild card games. Non-wild games are exemplified by the most basic game of Jacks or Better, and include many other variations such as Bonus Poker and Double Bonus Poker. The two most popular wild card games are Deuces Wild and Joker Poker. In these games, certain cards are wild (the 2s in Deuces Wild, the Joker(s) in Jokers Wild), i.e., the wild card may be considered to be any other card, so as to enable the player to more easily make a winning hand. Wild card games are often more exciting to play, but the pays for most winning combinations are usually lower than in the non-wild games.
There is a continuing need to provide new video poker games which blend the pays of standard non-wild video poker games with the excitement of wild card games to provide unique and exciting ways to play video poker. Accordingly, one advantage of the present invention is to provide players with new and enticing features that will stimulate player interest and increase time on the machine. In particular, the present invention seeks to provide the player with a dynamic game play that will heighten the player's expectations, boost confidence in the likelihood of a winning result, and provide non-wild pays for wild card play.